Can't Cruise Like a Norwegian in Tunisia

Future Port Calls to Tunisia CANCELLED

Norwegian Cruise Line began contacting their travel partners today to inform them that all future calls to Tunisia have been cancelled.

This action is in response to an incident that occurred this past weekend when Norwegian Jade called in the Tunis’ Port of La Goulette.  About 20 Israeli nationals and one American, who had a stamp in their passport for Israel, were not allowed to disembark the ship when it docked in Tunisia.   According to reports in the foreign press and travel industry news, there was no reason provided by the government for this action.

Travel Pulse reports that Kevin Sheehan, Norwegian Cruise Line’s CEO, condemned the “discriminatory act,” saying, “We are outraged by this act and the fact that we were not notified in advance of this practice. We apologize sincerely to our guests who were affected and want them to know that we have taken the appropriate action in response.”

The impacted passengers met with the Captain, but he was not able to provide them with a solution, so they had to remain on board the ship.  There was no mention of any reimbursement for this change in plans.

At press time, there hasn't been a response from the Tunisian government and the port calls have been replaced by a sea day.   We will provide updates in this developing story as information becomes available.